Chapter 325

Chapter 325: The Assertive Yan Yunyu

"Sorry for ruining your mood."

"Uh…"

Seeing Dongfang Ya’s defeated appearance, Mu Lin scratched his head awkwardly.

"Cough, Master, you’re worrying too much. I couldn’t have grown without your teaching."

After a lot of sweet talk, Mu Lin finally pulled Dongfang Ya out of her existential crisis.

With Dongfang Ya back to normal, the group sprang into action.

Si Ye and Yan Yunyu contacted their families to secure more investments for gathering celestial-level high-level resources. They also targeted wealthy clans under powerful clans to expand Mu Lin’s influence and recruit more supporters.

This approach came with trade-offs. Accepting investments meant Mu Lin had to protect these allies during crises. Maintaining relationships also required occasional effort from him.

Fortunately, Mu Lin had help. Yan Yunyu and Si Ye handled negotiations and screening candidates, leaving him only needing brief appearances. Sometimes a Substitute Paper Figure sufficed instead of his real presence.

The easy resource gains made Mu Lin appreciate his aides. "They’re ten times better at socializing. With them, I get more resources without getting schemed against… perfect!"

"But stay alert," he reminded himself. "Chu Lingluo sticks with me through thick and thin, but Yan Yunyu and Si Ye? Different story. Strength matters most – enough power crushes all schemes."

…

While Mu Lin relaxed, his helpers enjoyed their work. Yan Yunyu and Si Ye valued the social influence Mu Lin despised. They also benefited personally – Si Ye obtained cultivation resources through their deals.

Mu Lin didn’t mind them taking reasonable cuts, but kept them working together to prevent excess. The two maintained competitive tension as intended.

Yan Yunyu’s gains differed. Riding Mu Lin’s "Future Celestial Master" reputation, she accumulated such fortune that her cultivation speed overtook Yan Zhanpeng and rivaled Blood Cherry’s spiritual weapon-enhanced progress.

"A good breeze lifts me upward… Following Mu brother was my best decision. Maybe I’ll reach ancestral heights like this." This thought drove Yan Yunyu to aggressively push for more resources, even clashing with Yan family elders and relatives.

During her fundraising trip home, she noticed unusual festivities.

"Why’s everyone celebrating?"

Yan Yunyu grabbed a cousin’s sleeve demanding answers.

The girl who was pulled aside was named Yan Linglong. Her eyes showed unease and burning jealousy.

The reason for her resentment lay in their family status. Yan Yunyu, though part of the Yan family, had been a concubine-born daughter forced to carve her own path at Anping Taoist Palace. Failure would have doomed her to become a consort for some powerful being. Yan Linglong, as the legitimate daughter, had been sent directly to the Yuqing Sect for cultivation.

Previously, Yan Yunyu could only bow respectfully when they met. She’d even served as Yan Linglong’s follower—when noble girls gathered, some shone like flowers while others faded like leaves. Yan Yunyu had been the leaf, trailing behind Yan Linglong with flattery.

Clever Yan Yunyu had hidden her ambitions then. She’d stayed humble, even receiving resources from Yan Linglong early on. But as the saying goes: no one wants a friend to starve, yet none wish to see them feast. Rivalry between girls cuts sharper than blades.

Had Yan Yunyu stayed weak, Yan Linglong might’ve kept helping her. Now their positions had flipped. When questioned by Yan Yunyu, Yan Linglong had to answer politely—a shift that chafed. Worse, Yan Yunyu’s sudden rise came not from merit, but from clinging to someone influential. How could Yan Linglong not seethe?

Masking her bitterness, Yan Linglong smiled brightly:

“You didn’t know? When the Grave Lord’s secret realm opened, our Yan family seized another realm. We gained a spiritual weapon and rare treasures. The clan elders and family head plan to distribute them instead of hoarding.”

“All our siblings are here, eager to compete… Do you want a share, sister?”

“A spiritual weapon!” Yan Yunyu’s eyes gleamed before narrowing.

‘They kept this from me. Since following Mu brother, I’ve ignored family affairs. And they favor sons over daughters.’

‘Spiritual weapons become Family Resources. They’d never give one to a future bride like me, nor use it to court Mu brother. Of course they stayed silent.’

Even Prince Liang wouldn’t freely give Mu Lin such treasures, let alone the powerful clans.

Yet Yan Yunyu resolved to fight.

The estate erupted as she declared her intent.

“Yan Yunyu!” shouted a red-faced youth. “How dare you demand family treasures? Are you still one of us?”

“Remember your blood!” another snapped.

“They say daughters become strangers after marriage,” sneered a cousin. “You’re not even wed yet, but already stealing!”

“What next? Draining the family coffers?”

Yan Zhanpeng glared hardest. Every resource Yan Yunyu took for Mu Lin meant less for him.

Yan Yunyu ignored their fury.

“I am Yan family,” she stated coldly.

“Since you knew this, you should’ve thought more about the family and asked Mu Lin for the True Meaning Diagram of doppelgänger cultivation, instead of siding with outsiders and constantly moving our resources elsewhere.”

“Haha…”

Yan Yunyu let out a laugh laced with scorn.

“It’s precisely because I care about strengthening the family that I gave those treasures to Mu brother. He’ll use them a thousand times better than you fools ever could!”

“Besides,” she added coolly, “this spiritual weapon competition isn’t for Mu brother—it’s for me.” A lie, but necessary to placate the family.

“As you’ve all said, I’m a Yan. That gives me every right to participate.”

“???”

“You’re joining yourself?”

Her declaration left the Yan family members gaping. They’d expected her to hide behind Mu Lin’s reputation, not step forward alone.

Laughter erupted.

“You?”

“Delusional!”

“Mu Lin’s strong, sure, but you? You think flattery makes you his equal?”

Mockery filled the hall. A few even cracked their knuckles, itching to teach her a lesson. This wasn’t mere recklessness—cultivation resources were scarce, and the great way demanded struggle.

The clan elders could afford patience. Powerful beings with centuries to spare, they cared little for high-level resources or the metamorphosis stage. But Yan Zhanpeng and his generation? They needed progress now, in their prime. One misstep meant falling behind forever.

Cultivation rivaled the imperial exams—a brutal race across a single-log bridge. They’d risk angering Mu Lin if it meant securing their futures.

“Humiliate her, but don’t maim her,” Yan Zhanpeng calculated. “The elders will see my talent afterward. Remind them Mu Lin’s an outsider—we must strengthen ourselves first.”

He’d plotted every angle except one: Could he actually lose to Yan Yunyu?

None considered it. Her reputation hinged on wit and luck, never strength. Even beside Mu Lin, she’d seemed a mere hanger-on.

“Has she gone mad?” sneered Yan Linglong’s clique. “Her status rose because of Young Master Mu—what’s that to do with her?”

“A legitimate daughter getting above herself,” another tittered. “Sister Linglong deserves Mu Lin more.”

“Hush,” Yan Linglong chided, though her mind raced. Her fiancé Ge Yuanbai, the Ge family’s rising star, could rival Mu Lin someday. “As a future family head’s wife, I’ll outrank her regardless.”

Jeers swelled—until Yan Yunyu’s aura exploded.

The pressure flattened voices. But the true blow came to their pride.

“Refining the Evil? Impossible! How?!”